Boom Supersonic revealed a "refined" design for its Overture passenger jet that holds the promise of sustainable air travel at speeds of up to Mach 1.7.
Boom used the Farnborough International Airshow yesterday to reveal the updated design, which was finalized after 26 million hours of software simulation, five wind tunnel tests, and 51 full design iterations. The end result is an aircraft Boom says can carry up to 80 passengers using 100% sustainable aviation fuel at twice the speed of today's passenger jets.
Overture relies on four wing-mounted engines to offer a range of 4,250 nautical miles when carrying a full payload. It uses the world's first automated noise reduction system during take-off, and flies without afterburners so as not to break noise level regulations. The aircraft construction uses carbon composite materials to offer strength and thermal stability while remaining light, and the sculpted gull wings help supersonic performance while improving handling at all speeds.
When in flight, Overture travels at Mach 0.94 subsonic and Mach 1.7 supersonic, allowing it to fly from New York to London in under four hours and LA to Sydney in just eight hours.
Last month, Boom said commercial supersonic air travel will be viable again in 2029, and already counts Japan Airlines and the US Air Force as early customers. However, a new partnership has now been signed with Northrop Gurmman to developer "special mission variants" of Overture. They will include support for quick-reaction surveillance and reconnaissance, command and control, emergency medical, and military troop transport.
"Time is a strategic advantage in high consequence scenarios, from emergency evacuations to disaster response,” said Boom Founder and CEO Blake Scholl . “This collaboration between Boom and Northrop Grumman unlocks the potential for Overture to provide the US and our allies with an unmatched high speed capability when and where it’s most needed."